1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the mounting of fluid lines in motor vehicles, and, more particularly, to the mounting of a brake line relative to a frame member or an anti-lock brakes (ABS) line.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical applications of fluid tubing in a motor vehicle requires polyamide coated tubing be affixed to the vehicle in such a manner that the tubing remains in its intended routing within the vehicle. A common method for facilitating this includes snapped-on plastic clips or small metallic brackets that are applied to the part either at the assembly plant or by the manufacturer of the bent tube product.
While this produces a currently accepted method for assembling bent tubing within the vehicle, mounting of such tubing with plastic clips or metal brackets has generally not shown acceptable resistance to rotational and/or longitudinal movement. Under extreme conditions, the fastener or clip can move from the intended design position and cause the tubing to foul or contact other parts of the vehicle. Additionally, if the fastener or clip moves from the preferred location during shipment or fabrication, the assembly plant personnel are thus required to reposition the fastener to allow the component to be mated to the vehicle.
Such mounting arrangements employing plastic clips or metal brackets do not provide a consistently acceptable method for positively locating the attachment hardware, which causes problems cited above. Additionally, since the current art employs a snapped-on clip, it is realized that in production, these clips may fall off during shipment, requiring motor vehicle assembly plant workers to install a new fastener, which slows production and requires the plant to get these items in stock at the line. In the instance of configurations where the metallic or plastic clips hold multiple tubes together, the intended shape of the final product may be compromised due to the inability of current moving arrangements to positively hold the tubes in the preferred location.
Another manifestation of potential rotational and linear movement with respect to the fasteners is in the instance where an item such as an ABS cable is required to mate with the preformed tubing. Current art under this scenario again uses a plastic clip that permits a tube held thereby to move linearly and/or rotationally relative thereto. This movement again causes the components to potentially be installed to the vehicle such that they may contact other components, thus potentially causing a reduction in component life.
What is needed in the art is a method of mounting of a brake line relative to a frame member or an anti-lock brakes (ABS) line which permits the brake line to be initially attached using a simple clip action but yet permit the brake line to be positively located relative to another chosen part.
The present invention provides a method of mounting a brake line to a plastic clip that employs an additional ultrasonic welding step after clipping those parts together in order to positively locate the brake line relative to the plastic clip both prior to and after mounting of the clip to a further member, such as an automotive frame member or an anti-lock brakes (ABS) wire.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a particular automotive assembly that includes a brake line, a plastic clip and a second object. The brake line is a polyamide coated tube. The plastic clip has a tube receiver portion and a connector extension extending from the tube receiver portion. The polyamide coated tube is clipped in the tube receiver portion, and the tube receiver portion further is ultrasonically welded to the tube receiver portion. The connector extension facilitates connection of the plastic clip to another member. The second object is operatively attached to the connector extension of the plastic clip, the second object being one of an automotive frame member and an ABS wire.
The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a method of positively locating a polyamide coated tube relative to a plastic clip, the plastic clip having a tube receiver portion. The method includes the step of clipping the polyamide coated tube in the tube receiver portion, thereby defining a tube/clip contact zone. An ultrasonic bonding device including an ultrasonic horn is provided. The ultrasonic horn is positioned against one of the polyamide coated tube and the plastic clip proximate the tube/clip contact zone and is used to ultrasonically weld the polyamide coated tube and the plastic clip together.
An advantage of the present invention is that fluid tubing mounted in the manner of the invention is resistant to both rotational and longitudinal (i.e., linear) movement.
Another advantage is that such mounting ensures positive routing or design position of applied components.
Yet another advantage is that, due to the durability of this type of mounting, tubing positioned in such a fashion is resistant to movement (including vibrational movement) through the life of the vehicle.
An even further advantage is that tubing mounted in accordance with the invention is tends to remain intact and in alignment during shipment to assembly plants.
An even yet further advantage is that such a mounting reduces assembly plant labor by including provisions for attachment to the vehicle.